"We all know that water is life, but if you've never experienced something that proves it, you don't...

12 million people without clean water. Three quarters of the population with no safe place to go to the toilet. Overcrowded health centres and one of the worst maternal death rates in the world.

This is life in Mozambique, where photographer Mario Macilau was born. A weak economy, undeveloped infrastructure and unpredictable climate means a huge proportion of its population live in poverty.

WaterAid/Mario Macilau

The struggle for water

“Water is an important subject for me,” Mario says. “I never realised the extent to which people in my country struggle for water.”

“Mozambique is surrounded by water, replete with wildlife and beautiful landscapes that are in decline because there is no longer enough water to maintain life within them.”

The district of Niassa is known as Mozambique’s ‘forgotten province’, with conditions even worse than the national average. WaterAid is working with the isolated communities who live there to change that – and over the next three years, Mario will photograph the impact clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene will have.

WaterAid/Mario Macilau

Rogerio

The extent of Niassa’s water poverty has been captured in Mario’s first set of photographs, which focus on both the degraded environment and the unacceptable conditions of the people living there.

Rogerio, 14, lost his leg as a baby during an attack by bandits. He explains how this makes an already difficult situation worse: “We only take water from the river and it’s too far. I can’t manage to go to the river to take water there myself because of my leg.”

The water that his family does collect is dirty; it makes Rogerio sick, but there’s no other option. And with no toilets to use, the community go in the bush – apart from being a serious risk to hygiene, it’s physically difficult for Rogerio due to his disability.

WaterAid/Mario Macilau

Josefina

Josefina, a 12-year-old student, talked to Mario about her ambitions in life. “I want to be a teacher. To be a teacher is good, you can travel to other provinces. People are going to respect me.”

Although she’s enjoying school, it’s at odds with her responsibility to collect water from the distant river for her family which she does every second day. Her father Fabiao says “I’m not happy about this situation, seeing my daughter miss school to collect water.”

Isolation

Reflecting on his first trip, Mario noted the social isolation of people in the communities he visited. "People there need more help, more attention... the lack of water resources is one of the main reasons for family separation and displacement."

Over the course of the next three years, with funding from our supporters and UK aid from the British people, we hope that Niassa's isolated communities will be set on a new course for good.

Mario’s photographs were taken as part of our Untapped appeal, which will bring clean water to thousands of people across Mozambique and Sierra Leone. He’ll continue to document the lives of the people he meets during the next three years.

The appeal raised an amazing £4m which will also be matched by the UK Government, meaning we’ll be able to bring long-lasting change to thousands of people with access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene across the world.

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